WhatsApp Marketing7 min read
How to Send a WhatsApp Broadcast the Right Way
Broadcast lists in the Business App vs. template campaigns in the API, what Meta allows, and how to send bulk messages that people actually want.
Sending the same message to many customers at once is one of the most powerful things you can do on WhatsApp — and one of the easiest to get wrong. Done well, broadcasts drive sales and loyalty. Done badly, they get your number restricted.
Two ways to broadcast
- WhatsApp Business App: broadcast lists for small audiences. Recipients only receive your message if they've saved your number, and volumes are limited.
- WhatsApp Business API: template campaigns to opted-in contacts at scale, with segmentation, personalisation, buttons and reporting.
The rules that matter
- Only message contacts who opted in to receive messages from you on WhatsApp.
- Use templates that Meta has approved, in the right category (marketing, utility or authentication).
- Give people an easy way to stop messages, and respect it immediately.
- Keep quality high: many blocks or reports lower your number's quality rating and messaging limits.
Step by step with the API
- Import or sync your opted-in contacts, including consent status and useful attributes.
- Create a segment — for example, customers who bought in the last 90 days in Germany.
- Write a template with variables ({{name}}, {{product}}), an image and one or two buttons.
- Submit it for approval; most templates are reviewed quickly.
- Send a test to your team, then schedule the campaign for a sensible local time.
- Route replies to a chatbot flow or the team inbox — broadcasts start conversations.
What to send
- Back-in-stock and price-drop alerts for products customers showed interest in.
- Early access to sales for loyal customers.
- Event reminders and appointment slots.
- Genuinely useful content: care tips, how-to videos, seasonal advice.
A broadcast should feel like a personal message that happens to be sent to many people.
After you hit send
Look at delivery, read, click and reply rates — and at opt-outs and blocks. If opt-outs rise, reduce frequency or tighten your targeting before Meta's quality rating does it for you.
